


Spectacles and Sanity

by Dragonshoardbooks



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Asexual Character, Canon what is canon, Couple of ocs here and there, Gen, I will add tags as I go along, Trans Duck Newton, asexual Indrid cold, canon right out the window, cause I’m master of my own content, nothing too major though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-05-29 13:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19401589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonshoardbooks/pseuds/Dragonshoardbooks
Summary: Indrid has been missing for a couple weeks since the tree incident. The weather is awful and he is assumed by most to be as good as dead. Until a lady who owns a greenhouse out of town comes to complain about something destroying her fruits and to turn in a familiar orange crystal necklace.





	1. Concern

**Author's Note:**

> If there are any spelling errors or something doesn’t flow right please let me know! I post from mobile so it might be wonky.

Duck sighed, running a hand down his face and leaning back in his desk chair. Staring at the ceiling with a frown on his face. There hadn't been hide nor hair of Indrid since the tree incident. It was like he had disappeared into thin air. It was concerning to the ranger, especially since the seer didn’t have his glasses. He had to buy Aubrey lunch just to keep her from giving them to Heathcliff the enchanter. 

Duck had been looking for Indrid in his down time, hoping he would be able to at least give his glasses back before he decided to book it to who knows where. Hed convinced the campsite overseers to keep the electricity on in Indrid’s Winnebago, just in case he came back. 

A knock on the doorframe startled him to attention, accidentally causing him to knock over an empty coffee cup on his desk. Quickly picking it up he spared a glance towards the door to see a short stout woman with a thick purple coat and rain boots to match. She had her hands in her pockets and a deep frown on her face. Her salt and pepper hair tied in a tight bun at the top of her head.  
“Ah-I uh…” Duck cleared his throat as she crossed the small office, “how can I help you miss…?”  
“Gladis.” She grunted, offering a calloused hand.  
Duck found she had a surprisingly strong handshake for some her age.  
“Are you the one that supplies Leo with produce?” Duck asked, purely out of curiosity. 

Gladis only gave a curt nod before spitting a wad of tobacco into the trash can beside his desk.  
He winced, the smell of tobacco and cigarettes always bothered him for some reason. He was fine with stuff like weed, since he’d had quite a bit in his younger years. Incense and candles were also fine, but tobacco just threw him for a loop. Clasping his hands together he blinked back to the conversation at hand. 

“I have a greenhouse just outside a’ town. Recently had a wild animal break in an’ trash my fruit bushes. Look like it’d been there for a couple a’ days.” She sighed, “I actually found this here jewelry when it scampered into the woods after I chased it off.”

She drew her hand out of her pocket and held the object in her palm. Duck froze, mind running a mile a minute as he saw a familiar orange crystal hanging on a broken string. He couldn’t help but stare at it in disbelief. It had taken some effort to tear his eyes from it as she continued. 

“Don’t know if it’s some kind of collar or what but the animal was pretty big so I doubt it. Then again my eyesight ain’t gettin’ any better these days.” Gladis handed him the necklace without prompting and cleared her throat loudly.  
“I would like y’all to be on the lookout for that damn creature. I don’t want them coming back to my greenhouse eatin’ up all my hard work.”  
Duck nodded quickly, pocketing the necklace in his uniform coat.  
“yessum’ uh-where—ah did you happen to see which direction the animal went?”  
“Went south best I can remember. Broke one of my windows in the process.”  
“Ok ma’am, we’ll be on the lookout. Thank you for reporting the—ah... incident.”  
Gladis gave another curt nod before walking back out the door to an old beat up truck.  
As soon as she was gone, Duck scrambled towards the door. Yelling a quick goodbye to Juno who just raised her coffee mug in response. 

He had to get Aubrey and Ned as soon as possible. Throwing down his skateboard he booked it to the Cryptinomica. Tonight was the night they were meeting up anyway to discuss what to play next on Saturday night dead this week. 

Duck just about beefed it by accidentally skating on the wrong side of traffic. A loud honk and a quick jerk to the left had him off kilter but he managed to right himself as an angry tourist cursed at him. Waving in apology he set off once more. He couldn’t help it, he had questions and worries that plagued his thoughts.  
‘How long had Indrid been without his necklace?’  
‘How long can he go without it and still be sane?’  
‘What will happen to him if he’s out in the cold too long?’

Duck didn’t know any answers, and right now the universe didn’t seem too keen on letting him into their secrets. So, all he could do was search for answers the old fashioned way. Sheer determination, a con man, a magical girl, and a bitchy sword. This was going to be fun.


	2. Preparation

Duck skidded to a stop when he got to his destination, nearly running straight into the front window. The only thing between him and a face full of glass was poor Kirby who just barely managed to grab Ducks arm. 

“Whoa! Damn Duck, if you want plastic surgery that bad go crash into another store front,” Kirby laughed tightly. He looked like he hadn’t slept in awhile.  
“Any way, what’s got you in such a hurry? I haven’t seen you move that fast since you caught those kids with fireworks near the camp ground.”

Duck felt like his lungs were gonna collapse. When did breathing become so difficult? Is this how normal people felt?   
“I uh...I gotta talk to Aubrey about somethin’ an it’s kind of an emergency,” he coughed roughly “also I gotta get home as soon as possible to—uh feed my cat.”  
It wasn’t technically a lie, he did have to feed luci at a certain time or else she went on a rampage and knocked his stuff over.   
Kirby just laughed with a little more life, clapping Duck on the shoulder before walking into town towards the diner. 

Once he got inside he had to stop to take in the scene in front of him. There were soda cans everywhere. Ned was holding Dr. Bonkers, who had on a pair of antlers, in place as Aubrey took pictures.   
“You really think these obviously fake antlers will draw the Cryptonomica business?” Aubrey put her phone away and crossed her arms.   
“Why Aubrey, my dear friend, people will see what they want to see! It’s like a silhouette, it may be one thing but people will want to see it as another. So I in fact am not in the wrong, I’m just a messenger,” Ned chuckled, readjusting his suspenders. Turning towards duck who had finally been caught staring Ned smiled widely. It would give Indrid a run for his money...oh that’s right.   
“Hey duck! You ok? You look a little pale,” Aubrey slid Dr.Bonkers into her lap.   
“Duck! I wasn’t expecting you till later, but this is great! Now then, what do you think we should play this week? Attack of the flying purple people eater or blubber-“  
“Indrid is back,” he finally spat out. Wringing his hands together he cleared his throat, “ he was spotted at the green house outside a’ town bookin’ it south,” he took the necklace out of his pocket and presented it to the others. Both of their faces dropped as they saw the crystal in Duck’s hand. Leaning back against the counter Aubrey stared at the ceiling for a few moments, Dr. Bonkers in her arms. 

After a few moments she spoke up, “Should we tell Mama or….?” As she trailed off her face looked conflicted.   
“I mean we could but what is she gonna do if he has gon’ feral? Didn’t you say once they go feral they never come back?” Duck fiddled with the necklace with one hand, it felt unnaturally warm in his palm.   
“Well, we’ve seen weirder shit before so,” Ned shrugged. “I’d say let’s just do this on our own and if it goes sideways then we call the lodge.” 

Sighing Duck nodded. “We’re gonna have to look for him as soon as possible. I don’t want him runnin’ into trouble before we get to him.”  
Ned hummed in agreement, popping open another soda can and taking a long sip.   
“Well I’ve got nothin’ better to do tonight, bout you Aubrey?”  
“ nope, though I will have to have Dani watch Dr. Bonkers before we set out. ” she grinned “ guess I’ll meet up with y’all in about an hour?”   
With that the other two nodded and set out to get ready for the ‘hunt’. Aubrey called the lodge before hand, just to make sure Dani wasn’t busy, while Ned went to the back room to gather his gear. Duck got to the door before calling out,   
“Blubber is a classic!” Before skating off towards his apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo another short chapter because school is kicking my butt. On the other hand it’s a new chapter so !!! I’ll try to get the next one a bit longer just to practice making longer chapters.


	3. Let the hunt begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a flash back with Indrid and some shenanigans with Ducks cat

~a little over a week ago~  
A large figure shakily flies over the monongahela national forest. Every so often it drops a few feet before flapping its large wings quickly to right itself. Thankfully no one is around to see the spectacle that is this large creature. Though if one were to spot it their minds would immediately brush it aside, a nifty little trick that only worked when fate deemed it convenient. Time seems to slow as the figure becomes more sluggish, before finally giving its wings one more burst of strength before giving out completely. 

Indrid cold’s last thought before falling could have been anything. Maybe something poetic or profound since he did once serve in the high court when he was in sylvain. Alas, the poor mothman could not think straight, for he had been hit not once, but twice in the head today. So give him the benefit of the doubt when he denies shrieking like a banshee while thinking:  
‘FUCK’ as he quickly succumbed to gravity. Wings flailing and arms grasping for anything to hold him. 

Snowy branches reached out to break his fall. Scratchy bark and pine needles scuffed at his already sore body plummeting to the forest floor. Leading to the final loud SNAP of something definitely not made of wood. A small, pathetic whine goes unheard by the forest around him as he lay in a heap on the cold ground. A small, steady drip of blue blood came from his snout(?) as he finally found the strength to push himself on his side. Left wing bent at an odd angle around the base of his shoulder. Muttering and cursing in a language that was far from foreign he looked at his surroundings. In his current state, everything looked the same. To his left, trees. To the right, trees. In front of him, more trees. 

His mind was tired of working. Screaming at him to just lay down on the ground and sleep. It was cold, which meant he needed to conserve energy. But what good was he if did sleep? He needed shelter and he needed it quickly. After finding his footing on the icy ground he shuffled as quickly and quietly as he could. Though for something as large as he was, rounding out to be at least 8’ give or take in height, that was pretty difficult. 

Legs shaking as he leaned against a tree he sees a small light in the distance. It felt like mere seconds before he was at the source of the light, though how he had got there he did not remember. Looking closely he found the source of the light to be a greenhouse. It was fairly large and mostly made of foggy glass that blocked anyone from seeing what was inside other then colored blobs. Before he could rationalize any coherent thought, Indrid’s feet were moving forward towards the door on the side of the greenhouse. 

Making his way inside he shuts the door and scrambles to find a place to sit. A small crate with a tarp on it felt so much more inviting than the ground outside. Wrapping the tarp tightly around himself, minding his wing, he found the greenhouse had a good selection of fruit bushes and vegetables. Trying to see if he was in any immediate danger, Indrid glances into the future. Only to find nothing but a few flashes and static. Scrunching up his face in annoyance (and pain) he let out an exhausted huff. 

His mind had been foggy as soon as he took flight, though with his list of injuries it was no wonder. Thankfully he felt the magic of his crystal seeping into his skin, slowly mending him back into one piece. His wing was curled in a way that made it look as if it was trying to wrap itself around him, but in a way a fern would curl in on itself when touched. It looked and felt awful, but if he waited a few days the crystal would heal him. Though taking note of his other injuries would prove that the healing process would take much longer than a few days. His nose(?) was busted from where Duck had punched him in the face, as well as when he took that fall in the woods. Blue matted his oily fur on his face along with his chest. Reaching up he brushed a few digits across the back of his head, drawing back when the familiar ache had returned where the goat man had whacked him. 

Groaning Indrid slowly leaned against a stack of crates. Grateful that he was able to find shelter from the cold, but he also dreaded when the owner would return to tend to their plants. Trying to think of a plan was useless. His visions had become so jumbled and vague he could not even tell faces from each other. So deciding to listen to his body for once, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off into a fitful sleep. 

~the following week~  
The days seem to fly by in a flash. One minute Indrid is sitting against his crate, the next he is munching on—...something plant like. His visions had started coming back but none of them made any sense. It was as if the screens in his mind had cracked and he was only seeing tiny slivers of hundreds of different screens. It gave him a migraine that wouldn’t leave. If it weren’t for the fact that day and night on this planet was consistent he wouldn’t have known if any time had passed at all. The sun rose once, twice, thrice,.....what was he doing? He didn’t know ...if anything he didn’t feel much of anything at the moment. Other then his wing hurt and his brain felt like it would melt if he focused too hard on anything. 

At one point he heard something outside that sent him into a panic. Though, he couldn’t tell you why. All he can remember before blacking out completely is the sound of shouting, a loud noise above him, and many somethings cutting into his skin before he bolted out into the trees again. What happened next was only shown to him in pixels before it all turned to static. 

~at Duck’s apartment~ 

Skating up to his apartment building Duck huffed in exertion. Skating wasn’t that hard, and neither was walking, but when you feel like you’ve had half your lung capacity taken it seems much more effort than it’s worth. Coming to a stop before he could plow through the wall he hopped off and picked up his board. Scooting up the stairs he dug out his keys and unlocked his door. Just barely blocking the door with his board to prevent Luci from bolting again. A dismayed wail ensured he had succeeded in foiling her escape plan. Reaching down he picked her up with one hand and closed the door with the other. 

She was still young, only about 6 months and already acting like a bat outta hell every time he opened the door. He had almost lost her once when she did this, had it not have been for his superhuman reflexes she would have been hit by Leo’s truck one morning. It was a stressful experience for everyone involved. 

Looking down at the kitten in his hand he unceremoniously dropped her to the floor. Luci landing perfectly and waltzing over to her bowl, tail straight and yowling like she had never been fed a day in her life. Quickly getting her fed and watered Duck went to his room to grab some stuff. Said stuff included flashlights, a blanket, a good knife, and he went ahead and slide on some sturdier boots. Putting a few other things in a backpack he grabbed his board and started to head out. 

Picking up a frayed grey sock on his way he felt eyes on the back of his head. Looking behind him he saw Luci staring at him, eyes blown wide as she watched his every move. Grabbing the door knob in one hand and chucking the sock with the other he quickly managed to slip out the door as Luci ran after the sock in a flurry of claws on hardwood floors. All he saw as he closed the door was a ball of fur sliding under the ratty couch, determined to kill the offending sock. 

When he arrived at the Cryptinomica for the second time that night he found Ned waiting outside with yet another soda in his hand. As soon as he was about to open his mouth to comment, Aubrey came puttering in with Mama’s truck and a smug grin on her face.  
“Get in losers we’re going monster hunting.”

Despite himself, Duck laughed. Quickly complying, anxious to get this whole ordeal over with. Ned followed in suit, armed with a bag of his own and his narf blaster. Which none of them were too keen on using this round if they had a choice. Turning out towards the road and heading south they braced themselves for the worst, and hoped for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WASSUP SCHOOL IS KICKING MY BUTT. Also I got my wisdom teeth out and I am t i r e d. But! I was able to crank out this chapter and I got a good 1500+ words this time! Hopefully I’ll be able to build up from here. Anyway thanks for reading and if there’s anything wrong (spelling, wording, etc.) don’t be afraid to comment! (I post on mobile so it’s probably wonky anyway)

**Author's Note:**

> Yooo my first Taz fic. First I will say my chapter length vary drastically due to my inability to get all my thoughts out at once. But! I will do my best to have at least 600 words per chapter. Anyway thank you for reading and see you next chapter!(oh and if anyone wants to beta hmu on here of @/dragonshoardbooks on tumblr!)


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